2007年VOA标准英语-Congress Demands Answers About Fired US Prosecu

By Jim Malone
Washington
15 March 2007

A U.S. Senate committee has taken the first steps toward requesting testimony¹ from Bush administration officials in connection with the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year by the Justice Department.  The dismissals have created a political firestorm for President Bush amid calls from Democrats³ and at least one Republican that Mr. Bush fire Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.  National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the controversy⁴ from Washington.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to authorize⁵ subpoenas⁷ if necessary to force testimony from Justice Department officials who were involved in the firings of the federal prosecutors⁹ last year.

The action was driven by demands from Democrats to find out the reasons for the dismissal of the eight U.S. attorneys.

Among those looking for answers is Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York.

"This purge¹⁰ was based purely¹¹ on politics," he said.  "To punish prosecutors who were perceived to be too light on Democrats or too tough on Republicans."

Democrats contend that some of the prosecutors were fired, because they were not tough enough in pursuing voter fraud investigations¹² prior to last November's congressional elections.

But President Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have defended the firings as legitimate¹³ and within their powers.

 
President George Bush
Mr. Bush says it is now up to the attorney general to assure Congress that the dismissals were handled appropriately.

"U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, in other words, they are appointed by the president, they can be removed by the president," he said.  "What was mishandled was the explanation of the case."

U.S. attorneys are responsible for upholding federal law in various geographic¹⁴ districts around the country.  They are appointed by the president, can be removed for any reason and historically belong to the same political party as the president.

 
Alberto Gonzales
Attorney General Gonzales told NBC's Today program the dismissal of the prosecutors was not the result of a political vendetta¹⁵.

"These firings were not politically motivated," he said.  "They were not done in retaliation¹⁶.  They were not done to interfere¹⁷ with a public corruption¹⁸ case."

But some of the eight prosecutors recently testified before Congress and said they felt pressured from Republican lawmakers to be more aggressive in voter fraud investigations involving Democrats.

The former U.S. Attorney in New Mexico, David Iglesias, was fired several weeks after getting phone calls from two Republican members of Congress who wanted to know the progress of corruption investigations involving Democrats.

"I felt leaned on, I felt pressure to get these matters moving," he noted¹⁹.

Several Democrats and at least one Republican senator want the president to dismiss Attorney General Gonzales for the way in which the prosecutor⁸ firings were handled.

At the very least, Democrats are demanding hearings about the dismissals and want to hear from officials within the Justice Department and the White House.

"Several [of the fired prosecutors] had significant achievements in office and glowing performance reviews and it makes one wonder whether they were too effective and too good in their performance and perhaps too independent for the administration," said Vermont Democrat² Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.  "What were the real motivations for the firing?"

Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl says Democrats are making too much of the controversy, noting that President Clinton replaced all 93 U.S. attorneys when he took office in 1993.

"These are political appointments and these people are supposed to follow the priorities established by the president and the attorney general," he explained.

But Democrat Dianne Feinstein has a different view of how U.S. attorneys are supposed to act once in office.

"And the inference from all of this is that they are beholden to a White House as a political appointment might be," she said.  "And yet the moment these officials take the oath of office, they are beholden to only one group of people, and that is the people of the United States.  Mr. Gonzales is not the attorney general for the White House, he is the attorney general for the people of the United States and every single U.S. attorney has to have an objectivity and an independence, a willingness to pursue facts wherever those facts lead them."

The congressional focus on the prosecutor firings is the latest example of how last year's victories by Democrats in the congressional elections are having political consequences for the Bush administration.

Jim VandeHei is with the Politico, a political Web site based in Washington.  He says the Democrats' ability to force testimony and answers from Bush administration officials could keep the White House on the defensive²⁰ for much of the remainder of the president's term.

"Now that Democrats have subpoena⁶ power, they really have a lot of control over this White House," he explained.  "They can now not just ask for information, they can demand information."

Justice Department officials initially²¹ told Congress that most of the prosecutors who were removed had poor performance ratings.  But several of the fired U.S. attorneys told Congress they had been given strong evaluations²² by the department and were not told the reason for their dismissal.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

6 subpoena   

n.（法律）传票；v.传讯

参考例句：

• He was brought up to court with a subpoena.他接到传讯，来到法庭上。
• Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses.特别委员会有权传唤证人。

7 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

10 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

11 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

12 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 vendetta   

n.世仇，宿怨

参考例句：

• For years he pursued a vendetta against the Morris family.多年来他一直在寻求向莫里斯家族报世仇。
• She conducted a personal vendetta against me.她对我有宿仇。

16 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

18 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

19 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

20 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

21 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

22 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。